


Strands

by a_loquita



Category: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 04:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20352655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_loquita/pseuds/a_loquita
Summary: A little moment set a few days after Jean and Lucien return home from their honeymoon





	Strands

Jean is finishing up on the telephone when Lucien enters the kitchen. “Yes,” she says, “that will do. We’ll be expecting you.”

“And who was that?” he asks, absently, as she hangs up. He sets his glass of whisky down and glances all around, searching for something.

“Mrs. Atherton,” she replies, marking an appointment in the book for the following morning. He reaches for the pencil as she finishes, and she hands it over. He’s got the newspaper crossword puzzle in the other hand. 

“Anything serious?” 

“Sour stomach,” she says with a slight shrug. They walk back into the living room together. “But apparently not too serious, as it can wait until morning to see you about it. I suspect we’ll be getting a lot of calls like this in the next few days, patients having these sorts of sudden but vague symptoms.” 

“We will?”

“A cover story for the real reason.” Jean’s taken up her knitting again. But Lucien appears to have completely lost interest in both his crossword and whisky now, setting both aside, and his expression shows he’s clearly not understanding what she’s implying. 

“Because my patients missed me?” he tries.

“Because the gossips will want to see how we are… now.” But bless him; it’s still not registering and she’s going to have to spell it out. “Now that we’re married. To see if how we act around each other is… different.” She backtracks to fix a mistaken extra stitch, then moves the needles at high speed on the next row. “Or if we appear to be the same together as we’ve always been, well then, it will only confirm the suspicions they had about us all along.”

“Ah.” But he smirks, and it’s not at all the reaction she was expecting. “So what exactly am I to do?” 

“I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Surely there are ways that I can demonstrate in front of these meddling ladies that things have most certainly changed, for the good. I can’t seem to keep my hands off my new wife. But usually I try to restrain myself in front of others.”

She knows he’s only teasing but can’t help a warning. “Lucien.” He just chuckles, and she continues. “It won’t matter. They’re only going to see what they want to see, to reinforce their prejudices.” She must have let too much emotion slip, because his good humor drops and he reaches for her next to him on the sofa, pulling her into a hug. She drops her knitting into her lap.

“Jean,” he says, with that soft tone she loves too much. He places a kiss at her temple. “You know that anyone who doubts your good character, well, it’s only a poor reflection on their own.” He leans back enough to look her in the eye but keeps his arms around her, moving them lower down, and lower still.

“Yes of course.”

“But if it will help, when you’re showing Mrs. Atherton into the surgery tomorrow, I could squeeze you right here.”

“Don’t you dare!”


End file.
